Roller skates are well known products, and have always been popular. Over the last years, in-line type roller skates, also called "roller blades" have had a tremendous success and opened a market that expands rapidly. Such roller skates are fun to use when the skater is moving at a certain speed, fast enough to make the wheels roll underneath. However, if the skater wants to stop and remain stable, or if he has to climb up or down stairs or just wants to walk with his or her roller skates on, the roller skates with their rotating wheels become extremely unstable and are therefore dangerous for the user. A solution to this problem is to find a way or a device for immobilizing the wheels whenever required by the user. Such device should also be easy and quick to install onto the skates. Moreover, such device should be of a practical compact size so as to allow the user to carry it without any inconvenient.
Prior art attempts to satisfy this need include devices exclusively adapted for use on conventional roller skates provided with tandem wheels. Devices of this type are described, by way of examples, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,355,474; 4,364,187 and 4,413,842. Other prior art attempts have been made to provide devices adapted for use on in-line roller skates, such devices generally comprising a cover or an envelope for covering the wheels. Examples of such devices are described, by way of examples, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,236,224; 5,290,065 and 5,303,955. If these existing devices are efficient, they are either not very compact or often require some time to be fixed to the roller skates.
For the foregoing reasons, there is presently a need for a device for blocking the wheels of rollers skates whenever required, which would be of low cost and easy to carry and would allow quick and easy installation onto the roller skates.